State appears primed for another big turkey harvest

The warm days of spring appear to be gaining a foothold in Southeast Missouri.

They're just in time for turkey hunting season.

The three-week season opens Monday with shooting times lasting from a half-hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. The season ends May 11.

Missouri hunters in 2002 led the nation in turkeys killed by bagging more than 56,000. Last year's catch was slightly off of a record-setting 2001 that saw Missouri hunters kill 57,842 turkeys.

So what does 2003 have in store?

"At this point we don't have any reasons to think it's not going to be a good season," said A.J. Hendershott, outreach and education regional supervisor with the Missouri Department of Conservation. "I'm optimistic it's going to be a good year."

Hunters during the season may kill one turkey during the first week, and two turkeys total. If a hunter does not get a turkey during the first week, they will be allowed to kill two turkeys in either the second or third week as long as it isn't in the same day.

Local hunters won't have to travel far to find good public lands. Apple Creek Conservation Area on the northeastern tip of Cape Girardeau County and land near the Castor River provide good turkey hunting areas.

"Amidon State Forest is an excellent place to hunt," Merlin Pyrtle, an avid turkey hunter from Jackson, said of the area near Fredericktown. "It's just kind of the perfect forest."

Land with combinations of forest and field are ideal for spotting turkey, Hendershott said.

"They also make use of grain fields that have been harvested," he said.

Because of the wary nature of turkeys, turkey hunting can present quite a challenge.

"They see much better than the human eye does," Pyrtle said. "It is kind of a challenge just to get the bird in. It takes discipline."

Like most categories of bird and duck hunting, turkey hunters often rely on a call to help them attract the turkey. Box, slate and diaphragm calls are the most common types of calls used and can be purchased in hunting and sports stores across the area.

"It's very difficult to kill a turkey if you don't lure it in with calls or decoys," Hendershott said.

For Pyrtle, calls fall further down the list of essentials.

"The most important thing about turkey hunting is location, location, location," he said. "You've got to know the terrain."

Once a hunter has scouted a potential site and found an area where turkeys are present, the waiting game begins. While some hunters try to make their kills early, Pyrtle said having patience is a key.

"You've got to keep hunting all the way 'til 1 o'clock," he said.

Whether or not he bags a turkey, Pyrtle said just getting out in the woods and away from the rigors of work is what hunting is about.

"It's just one of those things that people from all walks of life can enjoy," he said.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 171